NOTICE
GARDA SCREENERS
PAID SICK DAYS & PERSONAL LEAVE
NEW LEGISLATION

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Many of you have been asking about the new legislation that provides federally regulated employees with minimum of up to ten (10) paid sick days and up to five “personal leave” days, with up to three (3) of those days paid.

Your Union leadership is discussing with the Company how the Collective Agreement should be
revised to be consistent with the new legislation.

At present, even without an agreement with the Company, you have the following entitlements:
• Part-time employees hired before December 1, 2022, have four (4) paid sick days available right now and will receive an entitlement to an additional day each coming month, to a maximum of ten (10) days, as per the Canada Labour Code;
• Part-time employees hired on or after January 1, 2023, will accumulate three (3) paid sick days after thirty (30) days of service and then one additional day per month, to a maximum of ten (10) days;
• Full-time employees have immediate access to eight (8) paid sick days under the CBA, which can be used as per the CBA and past practice. An entitlement to two (2) additional paid sick days will have accumulated by August 2023, as per the Canada Labour Code.

For Code sick leave days, the Company can ask for a medical certificate only when the employee has used five (5) or more consecutive days of medical leave with pay. Please let your Union representative know, if the Company asks for a medical certificate for a leave shorter than five (5) days.

Personal leave days are available to all employees under the Code and can be used for;
• carrying out responsibilities related to the health or care of family members
• carrying out responsibilities related to the education of family members who are under
eighteen (18) years of age;
• addressing any urgent matter concerning your family members;
• attending your citizenship ceremony under the Citizenship Act.

All employees are entitled to up to five(5) personal leave days under the Canada Labour Code. For employees with more than three (3) months service, the first three (3) days are paid.

Under the new legislation, it is no longer necessary for Full-time members to use one of the eight (8) paid sick days under Article 28 of the CBA to care for “members of the immediate family of the full-time employee who is sick.” In most cases, using an available paid personal day will be the better option.

Discussions with the Company
The Union has proposed to the Company that the best way to change the CBA to be consistent with the new rights is to give ten (10) sick days to all Screeners, to be treated the same way as the eight (8) days currently set out for Full-time Screeners in Article 28.03.

We also propose that the CBA be amended to refer to the Code right to personal days so that members know their rights.

If the Company disagrees with this proposal, the Union will bring it forward in the next round of negotiations.

Please follow your SOP at all times, and if you have any concerns, please address them with your Union.

In solidarity,
Tayeb Lharti
General Chairperson
Central Region